As Florida’s state legislative session is set to roll into overtime this week to make the final vote on Florida’s budget, we now know what’s in it, what isn’t and what it means to you. 2020 was called the “Year of the Teacher”, by Governor DeSantis. So, was it? Let’s start with what the budget means for teachers. It includes $500 million in pay increases and no bonuses.
The increase is short of what Governor DeSantis called for but still represents the largest one-year increase in teacher pay in Florida’s history. $400 million is earmarked for raising starting teacher pay. The legislature used the $47,500 figure Governor DeSantis asked for as the goal post for the money they allocated but will leave it up to individual school districts to use the funds provided by the state to raise the starting salaries accordingly. In other words, it’s likely some school districts will have starting salaries below that mark due to allocating those resources away from raising starting salaries. $100 million will be for raises for teachers who currently earn over $47,500. There will also be $340 million in “flex” education spending for school districts which could choose to further raise teachers pay at the district level if they see fit. The end of the bonus programs for teachers will likely be viewed positively by most as Florida’s Best and Brightest program had been a sore spot for many teachers who felt like teachers in the top schools and school districts had an unfair advantage.
Education spending in general went much higher with nearly $14 billion being allocated to the Florida Education Finance Program. Per pupil spending is set to increase by $40 in the upcoming school year over current levels. Other specific spending increases include $60 million more for Florida’s VPK program and an additional $42 million for additional school security measures.
The state budget delivers most of what Governor DeSantis asked for to make this the year of the teacher. It’s likely there will still be complaints coming from some within the education establishment, after all, Governor DeSantis’s record original proposal was commonly called a “starting point” by teachers’ unions, but it’s clear that the 2020-2021 school year will be the most lucrative for Florida’s teachers on record with dramatically higher compensation for starting teacher salaries.
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